Wire fence.



No. 65!,0I5. Patented June 5, I900. F. LOVE.

WIRE FENCE.

(Application filed June 14, 1899.)

(No Modei.)

in accordance with my invention.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED LOVE, or OTTAWA, KANSAS.

WIRE FENC E.

SPEGIFICATICN forming part of Letters Patent No. 651,015, dated June 5, 1900.

Application filed June 14, 1899. Serial No. 720,526. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED LOVE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottawa, in the county of Franklin and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Wire Fence, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wire fences, and particularly to a wire-fence fabric adapted to be manufactured either in panel or greater lengths; and one object in view is to provide a construction wherein the transverse straining of the fabric by wind-pressure or by the contact therewith of stock or the downward deflection of the runners or longitudinal members due to the weight of stock applied thereto will not result in the bending or other distortion of the connecting portions of the stays or those portions which are arranged between the horizontal planes of the runners, and hence when the pressure or strain is removed the parts of the structure will be in condition to return immediately to their normal relative positions. I attain the above object by constructing the stays or transverse members in sections, each section of which spans the interval between two adjacent longitudinal members or runners and is hingedly mounted terminally upon said longitudinal members, whereby the stay-sections without being bent are adapted to assume positions out of the normal plane of the fence fabric when the longitudinal members or runners are strained.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wire-fence fabric wherein the stays or transverse members consist of approximatelyalined portions of mesh-wires, which pass alternately in opposite directions across the interval between adjacent longitudinal members and are coiled between said transverse portions around straight portions of the iongitudinal members to adapt the structure to be buckled without permanently distorting the members.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a portion of a section of fence fabric constructed Fig. 2 is a detail view of the adjacent portions of ap nected and held in the desired relative positions by means of transverse stay-sections 2, which are arranged approximately in aiinement, said stay-sections consisting of transversely-disposed portions of a mesh-wire, of which the longitudinal connecting portions 3 are coiled around the longitudinal members or runners 1. Preferably each mesh-wire exjtends back and forth between and connects two parallel spaced longitudinal members throughout the lengths of the latter, or, in other words, a mesh-wire having one extremity, for instance, at the lower marginal runfner extends transversely to the adjacent in- .termediate runner, is coiled around said inftermediate runner for a distance equal to the length of a mesh or the distance between adjacent transverse members or stays, is thence carried transversely to the firstnamed or marginal runner, is coiled around the latter for a distance equal to another mesh, and is again extended transversely to the said adjacent intermediate runner, and so on throughout the lengths of said runners. In the same way the other longitudinal members of the structure are connected bya mesh-wire which extends alternately back and forth therebetween, the transverse portions of the several mesh-wires being arranged approximately in alinement to form a sectional stay, while the intermediate or connecting portions of the mesh-Wire between the transverse planes of said stay-sections are coiled around the longitudinal members or runners.

The coiled or connecting portion between the transverse portions or stay-sections of each mesh-wire is located between the transverse planes of the transverse portions or stay-sections of the mesh-wire of which the transverse portions span the next interval. For instance, the mesh-wire by which the lowermost runner is connected with the second runner is so arranged that the coiled connecting portions thereof occupy positions between the transverse planes of the transverse stay-sections forming parts of the mesh-wire by which said second runner is connected with the third runner. This arrangement provides for preventing the displacement of the mesh-wires (or of the stay-sections formed thereby) longitudinally of the runners. The runners, however, are straight throughout, whereby the coiled connecting portions of the mesh-wires are adapted to turn freely thereon, to thus provide a hinged connection between the stay sections and the runners. Hence when the fabric is subjected to a severe transverse strain sufficient to deflect the runners out of their normal positions in a common transverse plane the stay-sections, instead of being bent or distorted, simply swing upon the runners as upon hinge-pins, whereupon when the strain is removed the parts return to their normal positions. In the same way if the uppermost marginal runner is subjected to a downward strain, as by the weight of stock thrown thereon, the intermediate runners are deflected, or, in other words, the fence fabric is buckled, but without bending the stay-sections, and hence when the strain is removed the resilience of the runners returns the parts to their normal positions without interference by reason of bending or distortion of said stay-sections. Thus from the foregoing description it will be seen that the stays by which the runners are connected and held at the desired intervals consist of approximately-alined transverse sections hingedly mounted upon the runners and adapted to occupy angular positions with relation to the plane of the fabric, the portions of the runners between the transverse planes of said stays forming pintles or hingepins upon which the stay-sections are adapted to turn, and in addition to the fact that by this construction the parts of the structure are adapted after deflection to return to their normal positions it is obvious that pressure tending to distort the fence does not strain the elements thereof, and hence the durability of the fabric is vastly increased over one in which such deflection causes the bending of one or more elements. A member of a wire structure is necessarily weal;- ened to a greater or less extent by the bending thereof, and the repeated bending of a wire element at the same point results in the fracture thereof, and therefore by avoiding such bending I am enabled to produce a fabric capable of withstanding severe strains without permanent injury.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the in- Vention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A wire fence, comprising smooth longitudinal runners, and connecting-stays, said stays consisting of sections arranged in transverse series with their extremities coiled loosely about the longitudinal runners and adapted for oscillation thereon, the adjacent ends of the straight portions of the mutuallyadjacent stay-sections lying in slidable contact and with their coiled portions extended in opposite directions, those portions of each stay lying between each pair of runners being formed integral.

2. A wire fence, comprising longitudinal runners and connecting-stays, said stays consisting of sections arranged in transverse series with their extremities coiled loosely about the runners and adapted for oscillation thereon, the adjacent ends of the straight por tious of the mutually-adjacent stay-sections lying in slidable contact and with their coiled extremities extended in opposite directions, the stays between each pair of runners being alternately connected integrally at opposite ends.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myown I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRED LOVE.

\Vitnesses:

P.'S. CHENOWETH, .T. A. STONER. 

